The Deal
by writeturnlove
Summary: Bonnie enters Damon's mind with Caroline's help. Their goal is to save him from being trapped by the torment of his past. Once they venture inside, Bonnie gets more than she bargained for when an unexpected visitor offers her a deal too tempting to pass up. But will she risk everything she has for the ultimate prize?
1. Chapter 1

**The Deal**

By V.C. Turner

Bonnie stood next to Caroline in the main room of the Salvatore mansion. Golden light cascaded in through the picture windows that lined the west wall, but the tension of the moment overshadowed the beauty surrounding them. The flames lapping in the fireplace crackled nearby, but neither of them felt the warmth of the blaze.

Instead, the two beautiful childhood friends focused their attention on Damon, who sat motionless in a straight-back chair with his eyes firmly shut. Sybil had laid waste to the blue-eyed vampire's mind two days earlier. She'd used the remainder of her siren abilities to take revenge upon the man who refused to give in to her influence; all for the love of another woman – one she could never be.

Before he began to desiccate, Bonnie connected an IV to his left arm in the hopes that the blood bag infusions would be sufficient to keep him alive while they searched for a way to help Damon out of his current predicament.

Less than 48 hours earlier, Caroline found Sybil attempting to escape the mansion. The blonde vampire unceremoniously removed the siren's heart from her chest while Bonnie used the Candle of Imprisonment to trap the wench in the Salvatore dungeon.

Once they "woke" Damon, they would give him the satisfaction of helping kill Sybil with the newly assembled bell.

Caroline stood on his right side placing a hand on his shoulder. She turned to Bonnie, concern lacing her usually upbeat voice.

"Are you sure you want to go in his head, Bonnie?" Caroline asked cautiously, "You might not like what's in there."

Bonnie considered the decision she was about to make. In all the years she'd known Damon, she never felt the need to peek into his subconscious and find out what lurked in the dark corners of his mind. Damon usually gave her the benefit of telling her exactly what he was thinking. He didn't hold back. She knew his faults. She knew his flaws. She knew his past. Those months they spent in the prison world changed her perspective on the eldest Salvatore vampire. They shared so much – sometimes freely; sometimes reluctantly.

She eventually understood Stefan's protectiveness of him. She realized Caroline's optimism that he'd someday become a better person. Deep down, although she refused to admit it to anyone else, she also recognized Elena's attraction to him.

Bonnie looked at Caroline, plastered on her signature strong smile, and answered.

"Hell yeah," she said definitively.

They closed their eyes in unison as Caroline used her vampire talents to enter Damon's mind and take Bonnie along with her for the ride.

The Bennett witch had experienced visions before, but they usually arrived on their own. She had never purposely tried to evoke an image, nor had she attempted to have someone do so for her. She relaxed as the darkness surrounded her mind.

Her first vision was of fog, wafting through the cemetery in Mystic Falls. The sensation of the chill of the night wrapped around her and she instinctively shivered. She felt Caroline's hand wrapped around hers as the scenery began to change.

Blinding light followed by a loud, thunderous sound tore the friends from each other's grasp. Bonnie felt herself floating into an abyss from which she wondered if she could ever return without assistance.

A few moments passed before she was able to feel herself on solid footing again.

Bonnie's eyelids fluttered open as she allowed the light to slowly slip beneath her long lashes and touch her emerald eyes. She took her time adjusting to her new surroundings before panic set into her tiny frame.

Caroline was nowhere to be found.

"Caroline!" she cried out with worry, more for her friend than for herself. Bonnie didn't fear death, but she didn't welcome it either.

She continued to remind herself that she was not lost in a physical place, but in the mind of a man she had come to call friend.

She called Caroline's name several times, but only the echo of her own frightened voice answered her.

Bonnie swallowed hard and looked around to note the bright spring day, the lush green grass, the scent of flowers blooming all around, and the Salvatore mansion sitting quietly in front of her. She frowned, wondering if she had just been kicked out of Damon's mind and somehow transported outside.

She walked on shaky legs toward the front door, not even bothering to knock because no one ever seemed to do so. Once she entered, familiar scents filled her nose. The aroma of food wafted through the air and her stomach growled in response. She knew that smell: butter, whipped cream, syrup... PANCAKES! She smiled at the memory and the fact that Damon would be thinking of their time together in this prison world of his own mind. She stepped into the foyer and waited for the chorus to Salt-N-Pepa's "Whatta Man?" to play through the house.

She decided to do something she didn't do when they were stuck in 1994: scare Damon. Hopefully it would give him something to smile about and perhaps give him a reason not to wallow in his own self-loathing.

When she rounded the corner to the kitchen, she peeked to see that his back was turned to her. She tiptoed behind him, grabbing his shirt and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Boo!" she yelled, giggling as she backed away.

He spun around, only it wasn't Damon that turned to face her with a wicked grin on his face.

It was Kai.

Kai Parker watched her with amusement as he masked another emotion Bonnie could not identify. She backed away slowly, her mouth hanging open in shock.

 _He isn't real._ _He can't be real._ She chanted to herself.

The handsome warlock clutched his chest in mock distress before placing the plastic spatula on the counter and appraising Bonnie from head to toe.

"You look even sexier with long hair," Kai said, a compliment he apparently meant, but his words fell on terrified ears.

Bonnie backed up, feeling for the knife block on the counter behind her. Killing him was an instinct she developed when he chased her around in the prison world. Even though she knew this experience couldn't be real, she needed to defend herself – just in case.

She wanted to say something, anything to make this vision of Kai vanish from her view – and from Damon's mind, but she couldn't. The magic inside of her blocked was blocked by something she could not describe and, therefore, could not remove in time to use it against the bastard that stood before her.

Kai continued to look her up and down, studying every feature as if he'd forgotten what she'd looked like and he needed to remember and appreciate her beauty all over again.

His constant staring unnerved her more than a direct assault ever could. She finally found her words.

"Why the hell are you in Damon's mind?" she asked.

Kai removed the towel draped over his shoulder and placed it next to the spatula. He backed up to lean against the kitchen sink. He apparently wasn't ready to attack -yet.

"Fair question, Bon Bon -," he started.

Bonnie glared at him.

"Don't call me that!" she demanded, "No one calls me that."

"Except Damon, right?" he pointed out. The implication was clear, and the smirk on his face only stoked her anger more.

"Damon is my friend," Bonnie asserted, standing a little straighter as she filled her lungs both with an abundance of both air and confidence.

Kai's look of disbelief showed as his jaw set and he took a step toward her. Bonnie pulled out a carving knife and Kai stood still.

"Are you sure that's all it is: friendship?" he asked, "Because I saw more than just you walking away from him 13 times in the prison world. I saw you coming back…13 times. It wasn't because you were lonely either."

Bonnie's blood boiled. Just how much did he see and why would he bother spying on them in the first place?

"I wasn't the one so lonely I had to sneak around in dark places to spy on people," Bonnie asserted as anger forced her full lips into a thin line.

Kai chuckled, but there was no evil in his demeanor. He felt genuinely amused at her statement, and he neglected to counter with a smart-ass remark of his own. That alone surprised her, but not enough to allow her to let down her guard.

He took in a deep breath before speaking again. His voice softer than his mysterious intentions.

"I saw it Bonnie," he said.

Bonnie swallowed hard and began to shake with guilt over the memory; a minor betrayal not worth mentioning to Caroline and especially not to Elena – no, never to Elena.

"You saw nothing," she added, hoping he would drop the subject.

She wasn't that lucky.

Kai folded his arms across his chest, disappointment blooming behind his blue-grey eyes.

"Come on Bonnie. That night, two months into another May 10th. You sat next to each other sipping bourbon and playing poker at 2 a.m. until you both figured out that no one would know if anything happened between the two of you," Kai pointed out, looking jealous.

"Nothing happened," Bonnie hissed at him through gritted teeth. She was lying. He knew it and he would call her on it with details in 3…2…1.

"If that was nothing, can 'nothing' happen with me too?" he asked with a smile that appeared meant to punish her: Not betraying Elena; but for Bonnie betraying him.

Bonnie released the knife and moved quickly to slap Kai in the face as hard as she could. The act of anger stunned them both as her labored breathing made the only sound in the room.

She gathered her composure once again. She refused to let him continue to get the better of her.

"It was a kiss. That's all," she pointed out, not knowing why she had to defend herself to this man that had done so much to torment her and continued to do so from the grave.

"That was more than a kiss. That was a hell of a lot more than a kiss. That was curiosity turned into lust that lasted for, what, a few hours at least. Then you ran away, again," he said, this time, his anger broke through his bravado.

Bonnie tried to grasp the reason for Kai's purpose in Damon's mind. She decided he represented the guilt Damon felt for betraying Elena that night.

Bonnie tried to forget it, but there were times, even when she was with Enzo, that she thought about it. Sometimes she felt the guilt weigh heavily on her chest. Other times, she felt the excitement bubble beneath her breast. It shouldn't have happened even if it didn't go as far as both of them wanted it to go that night.

They never spoke about it. They never needed to. Some words need to remain unsaid and some deeds need to remain buried in the subconscious.

That's why Kai was in Damon's mind.

"You're not really here, anyway," Bonnie said, scowling at Kai.

"The thing is Bonnie, I _am_ here. I'm as real as you are; standing next to Caroline trying to pick through Damon's mind so that the vamp boy can wake up. You see, one little side effect of spending time in Hell is that you're connected to all the devil's children. You can slip into each other's minds and have a peek if you want. It's a way to pass the time while your soul burns for, well, all the things you did to deserve going to Hell," he pointed out.

She watched as Kai shuddered at some memory he kept conveniently to himself. Perhaps he held back because he didn't want to show weakness. Perhaps he didn't want her to see him feel something else…like regret or remorse.

"If you're really here, then you're here for a reason. What is it so we can get this over with and I can help Damon," she asked him, wondering if he'd even bother to tell her the truth.

Kai and Damon were similar in that they both enjoyed who they were…at least they appeared to enjoy it. They both confessed their sins to her. They both wanted to be forgiven by her. Why she held such power over killers, she didn't know. What she did know was that she wanted to get to the bottom of this little puzzle he was laying out for her.

"I'm here because you and I both want something and we can both help each other," he began.

Kai motioned for Bonnie to join him at the kitchen table. Reluctantly she followed. For some reason, the mental trip down Damon's memory lane was becoming physically exhausting for her. After she sat down, he continued.

"I'm here to make a deal with you," Kai offered.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow rather than speak. He knew she didn't trust him, so there was no point in actually saying it out loud.

"What you want is to save Damon and break the spell between you and Elena, fine. I can do that," he said, "What I want is to get out of Hell with my awesome hybrid powers intact."

Bonnie sat back in her chair, waiting for "the catch." After a couple of minutes of silence, she finally asked him the question.

"You want me to help you get out of Hell so you can go on some murder spree?" she bluntly questioned, drumming her fingers on the oak table.

Kai leaned forward and grabbed her hand to stop the noise she was making. He held it more gently than she expected. He rubbed the pad of his thumb against the back of her hand, then released it.

He sat back in his chair and answered her.

"I don't have anyone left to kill," he said earnestly.

"Not even me," she added in a voice that sounded like an accusation.

Kai shook his head.

"Especially not you," he said, softly, "I just want to live, Bonnie."

She looked in his eyes and for the first time, she actually believed him. The flicker of doubt in the back of her head began to fade with each passing second.

Bonnie considered his proposal. To be free from the sleeping curse would mean that her life would be her own; her destiny would no longer be tied to Elena. She could do anything. She could be anything: witch or vampire. Her mind mulled over the prospect of becoming a vampire. In truth, she didn't like the idea at all. As a witch, she could extend her life … if she ever got her powers back.

Her powers. She'd forgotten just how much she missed them and her connection to nature. She missed how the power of the earth flowed through her like the blood in her veins.

"What exactly do you need? I don't have magic anymore," Bonnie pointed out.

"Actually, you do, you just don't realize it. Everything about you is magic, Bonnie," he said, looking in her eyes and then looking away quickly, "I can tap into it again if you let me try."

Bonnie still didn't want to trust him. She didn't want to trust the reality she was in, but the benefits of working with him were too great to pass up. If he stepped out of line, she would just make sure he died again.

"Like I said, what do you need to do this?" she inquired.

Kai reached for a scrap of paper and a pencil and wrote down the ingredients she would need to make the deal a reality. He handed the list to her and waited for her reaction.

Bonnie read the list aloud.

"Bennett blood, why am I not surprised," she began, "My grimoire, a piece of amber stone, a sample of each element – earth, air, fire and water, and…the blood from the Gemini king."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, I'm not exactly a king, but you know what I mean," Kai said with a smile. Had she not known the evil he represented, the smile would have made her blush. Perhaps it did a little, but she pushed the feeling aside.

"So I get all these things for you when I come out of Damon's brain. What then?" Bonnie asked, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"You need to meet me at one of the gates of Hell on the next full moon. You'll also need to find the binding spell in your grimoire and you bring it with you," he said.

Bonnie had read the grimoire plenty of times. The binding spell she'd used with her mother was complicated and required another Bennett witch to recite it with her.

"I'm going to need my mother for the spell," Bonnie noted.

"That's not the spell I mean," Kai said, not looking at her.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie inquired. The spell she was thinking of was the only one in the book …. that she could remember.

Kai held back a grin before speaking again. The other shoe was about to drop.

"The spell I'm talking about is the binding spell for, true love. Saying it with all the ingredients ties people together across time, space, dimensions, spells, etc. It's the loophole I said didn't exist," he explained.

Bonnie's anger threatened to surge forward, but she kept it in check.

"You said no loopholes," Bonnie seethed.

"No loopholes you'd be willing to risk going through," Kai said.

"Why wouldn't I risk it, especially now after all the hell I've been through?" she asked.

"Because, like I said, this spell binds you to your true love, and maybe not so deep down inside, you know it's not the man you're with," he said as he lifted her chin and looked in her eyes.

Bonnie pulled back from his touch once her heart slowed back to a normal pace. She gathered her thoughts before standing up and heading toward the door to find Caroline.

"The full moon is in three days," Bonnie added, "Where am I going to find a gate to Hell?"

Kai stood but kept a respectful distance from Bonnie.

"One of the gates is placed strategically at the center of this god-forsaken town," he explained, "Go there with everything on that list and start saying the spell at midnight."

"And if it works…," she started to say.

"If it works, Damon and Elena wake up, you're released from the sleeping curse and get your magic back, and I get out of Hell to live my life," Kai asserted.

"And everyone gets their true love," Bonnie said.

"Everyone connected by the spell does, yeah," he said, honestly.

Bonnie began to walk away from him, heading toward the front door. Doubt filled her, but it didn't stop her from wanting to go through with the plan.

Still, she needed to ask another question to which she felt Kai already knew the answer. She turned to face him, not realizing that he had followed her, standing in her personal space as if he deserved to share it.

"So…. if I'm going to be eternally bound to this person in three days, who's supposed to be my true love?" she asked.

Kai smiled down at her and shook his head.

"What I can tell you is that the spell doesn't make the choice for you. The universe doesn't really make the choice for you," he said as he brushed the hair from her face and placed it behind her ear. He then slowly traced his fingers down her jawline to her neck, down to where her heart thundered beneath her skin.

"This," he continued lightly touching her heart, "This chooses for you."

Bonnie began to shake, but not from fear of Kai. She feared what secrets her own heart held that the spell would reveal to her at the next full moon.

"But…who?" she started to speak.

He leaned into her ear and whispered.

"Well, I know who mine is," he breathed into her ear, "And I guess in three days, we'll both find out yours."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Deal**

Chapter 2

Bonnie clasped her fingers around the note, clutching it so tightly that her fingernails dug into her skin leaving dark red marks in their wake. Kai's words shook her to her core and she clung to the tiny sheet of paper as if her life depended on it. Perhaps it did.

She still felt his hot breath on her neck, so she turned to look at him seeking more answers, only he seemed to have vanished with his last words to her, "We'll both find out yours." The phrase echoed in the silence of her mind as she walked through the vacant Salvatore mansion. She thought of Caroline and wondered how she would be able to find her friend and get out of Damon's mind. She decided the best thing for her to do was head back into town and find a central location from which to start her search.

As she crossed into the living room, Bonnie noticed something out of the corner of her eye that had not been there when she entered. A flash of bright orange caught her attention, so she turned to see the fireplace burning. Someone had recently stoked the flames and she witnessed movement on the couch.

The sound of voices, familiar voices, drew her closer. She didn't want to spy even though she knew she wasn't really spying on anyone; just checking out the landscape of Damon's mind. She stuffed the paper in the pocket of her jeans and headed close enough to where she could hear the noises more clearly.

Giggles. Bonnie definitely heard feminine giggles, but in addition to that, she heard a deep and familiar chuckle that sent her heart racing.

Damon.

She swallowed hard once she realized the image Damon's mind had conjured: The night they played poker in the Prison World. The night brought them closer than ever before in more ways than one.

Kai hadn't seen everything. Perhaps that was for the best.

The fewer people who knew - the better.

 **May 10, 1994**

Bonnie scurried into the living room holding a deck of cards in one hand and a Trivial Pursuit Game in the other. She refused to be bored for another night at the Salvatore mansion and Damon threatened to destroy the television should she force him to watch The Bodyguard one more time.

As the days stretched into weeks, they continued to feel as if they'd taken up residence in their own person Hell: Mystic Falls – population two. They needed to figure out a way to get back home, however easing the tension between them seemed to take precedence. They spent their early days fighting, then several more days trying to ignore one another. Finally, they came to accept their temporary fate and learned to live in peace under the Salvatore roof.

Eventually, Bonnie found herself feeling more relaxed in the former boarding house. Damon made up a room for her, insisting that she stay with him for her safety and his sanity. He'd stolen a set of pale, yellow curtains from a store in the center of town. He also nabbed a few bed linens and some items from her grandmother's house to make her feel cozy. And she did.

To pass the time, Bonnie danced whenever and wherever she could. She choreographed dance routines, and enjoyed the diversion the exercise gave her. She jumped and twirled, infusing every movement with feeling so that she didn't have to think about the loneliness that accompanied their predicament. When Damon was home, she took her routines into the enormous backyard, hoping he didn't watch her when she wasn't looking. She also tried yoga to break up the monotony, yet it did little to ease her mind. This wasn't home and at the time she didn't know if she ever wanted it to be.

Isolation had its benefits. Without magic, she wasn't called upon to vanquish any enemies. She wasn't being used to cast spells to protect those that never thanked her for her efforts. No. At least the prison world provided her a respite that the real world refused to grant her: some level of peace.

Damon offered her his time and attention more and more over the passing weeks. His brooding manner gave way to acceptance and later to a form of kindness that she had never seen in the vampire during all the years they'd known each other. He cooked her breakfast and she found comfort in the early morning teasing and banter they shared. She was beginning to feel safe, comfortable, and unusually happy in his company.

Bonnie instituted Game Night a few weeks into their sojourn in the prison world. She would bring two board games downstairs for them to choose from and they would flip a coin to decide which one they would play.

The first time she brought the games downstairs, Damon growled. He questioned her sanity on an almost daily basis, but she didn't take his jibes seriously. Week after week passed, and she found him smiling more and more whenever she trotted downstairs in her pajamas looking for a way to pass the time that didn't involve chugging bourbon.

As she descended the stairs, she noticed Damon leaning against the mantle over the fireplace. Wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he stared into the firelight, apparently pondering something pleasant judging by the coy smile on his face. He didn't turn to face her. Instead, he took a sip of his liquor, and then swirled the amber liquid around in the glass a few times before addressing her.

"What shall it be, tonight, Bon Bon?" he asked, "I'd hate to hurt your feelings by destroying you in yet another game of Scrabble."

Bonnie stopped her advance into the main room and pursed her lips, frowning at the memory of Damon dancing around every piece of furniture of the room the night he effectively trounced her in the aforementioned game.

"Just so you know: I let you win," she lied, strolling the rest of the way into the room.

Damon simply chuckled at her statement as he turned to sit down on the couch. He set his drink on the coffee table at the same time she placed the deck of cards to his right and the board game to his left. He briefly scanned at his choices for the evening, then raised an eyebrow as he picked up the deck of cards.

"Why don't we stay away from board games for a change? How about Poker?" he asked.

"Sounds good," she told him.

"Are you sure you know how to play?" Damon joked.

Bonnie scowled at him, then nodded even though she felt less certain about a game of Poker with Damon than a round of Trivial Pursuit. While she still might lose the knowledge-based board game to a century-old vampire, she was certain he'd played more than his share of poker hands over the decades.

She quickly began to regret both of her random game night choices.

"Fine," she said with a genuine lack of confidence.

Bonnie reached across the table to grab Damon's drink. She raised the glass in a mock toast before taking two large gulps of the liquid. She felt it burn down her throat, the warmth spreading across her chest like a blanket. The tiny witch didn't think she could ever get used to swilling alcohol like most of her supernatural friends, but being a "goody two shoes" hadn't exactly brought her happiness over the years. In fact, her diminutive nature often brought her just the opposite.

Damon shook his head.

"Don't do that Bon Bon. It just looks weird when you drink. I don't know if I want to be the one to tarnish your halo," he offered, taking back the glass and filling it again.

"Well, it's not like having this damn halo has done me any good. I mean, I am stuck here with you," she said with a smirk.

Bonnie pulled a blanket off the back of the couch, wrapped it around her bare legs, and faced her friend, awaiting a snarky response.

Damon took out the deck, shuffled it, and began to deal out five cards for each of them. A soft smile appeared on his face again; a happy thought crossed his mind and he seemed to want to share it with her, but was resisting the urge.

"Well, if you really want that halo tarnished and those wings clipped…. why don't we make this interesting; and I mean more interesting than normal," he stated.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at her friend. Her heart began to quicken. While she no longer feared the blue-eyed immortal, she had some non-supernatural feelings about him that she needed to keep in line. He belonged to Elena and even if neither of them knew when they would return to their reality, it was no reason for her to indulge in a fantasy with a man she could never have and never keep.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what 'interesting' means for you, Salvatore," Bonnie noted, scanning her cards and attempting to maintain her poker face.

"How about Strip Poker?" Damon asked, the hesitation in his voice apparent.

Bonnie stopped moving, and breathing, as she digested his suggestion. His expression was playful, yet serious. He was fully aware that she was probably bad at this game so offering to up the stakes to a Strip Poker game felt like an excuse to see her naked.

"You – you wanna play what?" she asked, stalling for time to decide if she dared agree to his proposal.

"Strip poker," he said, "Unless you don't think you could handle seeing me naked."

He ended his statement with a wink; which was Damon's version of throwing down the gauntlet and hoping she'd pick it up. While she usually wasn't keen in taking the bait so quickly, something deep inside her burst forward with a vengeance. Damon brought that out in her…the desire to be bold.

"I actually think it's you that can't handle seeing me naked," she said, winking back at him.

Bonnie straightened her spine and looked at her cards again.

Damon took a swallow of his bourbon and stood up, slowly removing his belt and staring into Bonnie's skeptical eyes as he did so.

"What –" she began.

"I just figured we need this to be fair," he explained, "You're wearing, what, three articles of clothing right now? I need to get down to three too, right?"

She watched as Damon slowly removed his jeans, revealing a pair of tight boxer briefs that only barely contained his manhood behind the thin black fabric. He then took off his shoes, leaving only his shirt, underwear and a pair socks of socks remaining on his toned form.

Bonnie swallowed, pretending to ignore his blatant display of sexuality before her. She was fully aware of how beautiful she was, but she had never put it on display for someone else; not even for Jeremy. She cautiously stared at the back of Damon's cards.

"So, what do you have?" she asked, tapping her bare foot lightly on the carpet.

Damon smiled, revealing a pair of Jacks along wit and a 6.

Bonnie smiled, biting her lip as she revealed her hand: A pair of Queens and a pair of 10s, with a 9.

She giggled a bit, happy about her minor victory to the point of doing a small dance in her seat. That's when he did it. Without commentary of any kind, he stood up, slowly removing his black shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it on the floor. He said nothing. He just stared at Bonnie. She felt as if he were staring through her. She looked down at his perfect upper body, the muscles flexing probably a little more than necessary, and probably for her benefit.

Bonnie then noted another subtle behavior: Damon's eyes dropped down to gaze at her mouth, then back up to her eyes. He still said nothing as he sat down again. He reached across the table, sliding his hands beneath hers to take her cards so he could shuffle the deck again. How the hell did he have the ability to tempt her without saying a word? Although she donned more clothing than Damon at the time, Bonnie still felt very naked under his stare. That was probably his intention, but she didn't care.

He dealt the cards. After she received her final card, Bonnie picked up her hand and her heart immediately fell. She held a smattering of unmatched cards. She looked up at a smirking Damon.

Bonnie picked up his glass and took a long drink from it as she waited for Damon to say something.

"Show me what you've got, Bon Bon," Damon stated, wagging an eyebrow at her.

Bonnie laid her cards on the table, knowing she had nothing and that her highest card was a 10. Damon's satisfaction showed on his face. He revealed his hand, he held three 3s, a Jack and a King. He looked at her, waiting for her to stand up and remove something.

She hesitated out of nervousness rather than insecurity. Bonnie then stood and reached under her shirt with the full intention of taking off her bra without removing her shirt. He stopped her with a click of his tongue.

"Oh no. Not fair," he said, looking her up and down, "No girly tricks. Here. Let me."

Damon stood in front of her, the warmth of his bare chest heating her all over. Parts of her began to throb and pulse with each beat of her heart. She then remembered that, as a vampire, he could hear all of it. Every. Single. Beat. He stroked her face with the back of his hand. The movement stunned her into immobility. He then proceeded to get down on his knees in front of her.

Damon's blue eyes gleamed at her as he slid his hands beneath her long shirt. She felt her body come alive as he stroked the skin of her legs upward to her moistening sex. He hooked his fingers around the waistband of her panties and dragged them slowly down to her ankles. Bonnie had every reason to slap him for making such an intimate gesture toward her. He probably knew that, not so deep down, she wanted him to undress her.

Bonnie swallowed hard as he stood in front of her holding her panties in his hand. He brought the dainty fabric up to his nose, taking a brief whiff and smiling as he tossed them on the floor on top of his pants. She should have been offended by his actions, but they only turned her on until she realized that his heightened senses could also detect her arousal as well. She licked her lips and immediately regretted it because he gazed at her mouth much longer than necessary.

The fire crackled behind him and all she could think was that something had changed; the air became thicker and harder to breathe in his presence. She backed up against the sofa, sitting back down and grabbing the cards as if they would act as a shield against her emerging excitement. She shuffled the deck, but a few cards fell out of her shaking hands, gathered them up again and began mixing them up.

Damon sat next to her, studying her movements as she attempted to deal the cards again. Bonnie stared at her cards. This time, fate had blessed her with a pair of kings. Although excited that she might win the hand after all, a part of her felt disappointed that a winning hand would deny her the pleasure of his touch…the guilty pleasure that is.

"Your turn, Mr. Salvatore," she said, cradling the cards to her chest.

"Wow. That sounded formal. You must have something good," Damon joked.

He placed his cards on the table, revealing a pair of sixes. Bonnie smiled, but that smile fell into a lust filled gaze as Damon stood, tugging on his boxer brief and slowly pulling them down over his hips. No. She really couldn't handle seeing him naked just yet.

"Stop!" Bonnie said in a near shout.

Damon furrowed his brow, but stopped removing his underwear, waiting for an explanation. He raised his right eyebrow when her silence denied him the response he needed. She finally spoke up, forcing herself to stare in his eyes as intently as she could to prevent her eyes from venturing lower.

"I – I. I guess you're right," she admitted, "I don't think I could handle that. Why don't you just take off your socks instead?"

Damon sat back down and removed his socks. He looked up at her with an unreadable expression.

"So, I guess this means that I get to choose the next article of clothing you have to take off?" he suggested.

She considered refusing, but thought better of it since she had taken it upon herself to choose what he removed. She gave him another silent nod and waited.

Damon grabbed the deck and began shuffling the cards. He dealt them out again and Bonnie picked up her cards to discover that she didn't have a pair or any other type of competitive hand. He tapped the table and waited for Bonnie to lay her hand on the table, so she did. Damon then revealed that he held a pair of aces.

"What do you want me to take off," Bonnie said with a shrug. She knew he could see through her pretense of annoyance. Her heard fluttered as she waited for him to make a decision.

After a few intense seconds of looking her up and down, he spoke.

"Your shirt," he said in a whisper.

Bonnie rose to her feet. She bit her lip and slowly pulled the shirt over her head, dropping it on top of the rest of the discarded clothing. She stood in front of him, mostly naked except for the green lace bra covered her breasts. She waited for him to say something – do something, but he simply looked at her as if hypnotized.

She grabbed a blanket from the sofa and wrapped it around her waist. She reached for the cards.

Damon placed his hand atop hers, scooting closer to her on the couch.

"We can stop if you want," he said in soft, earnest voice.

Bonnie had known Damon for years, so she knew he was holding something back.

"What do you want?" she asked.

He seemed to think about what he should say before actually opening his mouth, a rare practice for the vampire.

"I probably shouldn't answer that question right now," Damon added, putting the deck back into its box.

Bonnie scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Their unlikely friendship made the contact comfortable and welcome for them both. She cuddled against him for warmth and something she dared not say aloud.

"You sleepy?" he asked quietly.

He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Bonnie shook her head, however the yawn escaping her lips told the truth of her level of exhaustion. Without hesitation, Damon scooped her up, using his vampire speed to take her upstairs and lie her down on a large, comfortable bed. He then lit the fireplace to bring the room up to the right temperature.

With dreamy eyes, Bonnie looked around, looking at the cherry wood walls, the floor length mirror, and the oak dresser…Her heart skipped a beat and she sat upright in the California King-sized bed.

Damon had taken her into his bedroom.

"Why am I here?" she asked.

"It's the most comfortable bed in the house," he offered, matter-of-factly.

She leaned back against the headboard draping the comforter across her legs as Damon padded into the bathroom.

"I can sleep fine in my room, Damon," she called after him.

"I know that, Bon," he said, "I just figured you could stretch out more in here."

Bonnie nodded, a sliver of disappointment running through her as she realized that his statement probably meant that he would be sleeping elsewhere. She stroked the soft sheets and considered that this room, this bed, was where Damon made love to her best friend. This was sacred to them and she refused to continue to believe that, at least in this reality, she could have him all to herself.

"Thanks," she told him when he reentered the room, "I really appreciate it."

Damon gave her his usual smile, and slid in bed next to her. He pulled her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head once again.

"Get some sleep Bon Bon," he said softly, running his fingers up and down her right arm.

Bonnie began to shiver, but not from the cold sheets. Her nervousness began to overwhelm her, along with his scent and their mostly unclothed bodies. She became hyper-aware of the softness of the bed sheets. They tickled her skin, which did nothing to calm her down from the sensation of his skin rubbing against hers. Nothing felt innocent about the contact and she felt the need to address it before she went insane with both lust and uncertainty.

"Damon, I don't know if it's such a good idea for me to be half naked in your bed right now," Bonnie pointed out.

"Technically, you're more than 90 percent naked right now," he teased.

Bonnie poked him in the ribs.

"I'm serious," she insisted.

"And therein lies your greatest problem, my friend: you're too serious," Damon explained.

"That's not the point," she insisted, sitting up straight until he pulled her back into his arms.

"That is the point," he went on, "You never relax and let go."

"It's not like I have time to do that when I'm constantly playing to role of everyone's magical genie," Bonnie explained, "It's not as if I enjoy it either. Sometimes I do just want to relax."

He gave her a quick squeeze.

"Well, there appear to be no supernatural enemies to fight here, so you can relax unless you consider me an enemy, too," he pointed out.

"No. You're not my enemy, but I still shouldn't be in this bed with you. Not after you and –" Bonnie began to state.

"Bonnie, this is my bedroom in 1994," Damon interrupted, "I wasn't with _anyone_ then. This bed…No other woman has slept in it. …Not until now."

She looked up at him, still attempting to reassure herself of his intentions, that is, if even he knew them. She swallowed hard, but both her mouth and throat were dry. She attempted to conjure up the right words to use, but anything said would just come out sounding as uncertain as she felt. She spoke up anyway because looking in his blue eyes glimmering in the firelight made every nerve ending on her body tingle with anticipation. Her sex became moist and overheated as she looked at his bare torso, then back up to his eyes.

"Why me?" Bonnie finally asked, "Why now? What do you want?"

Damon took his left hand and slowly pulled the covers from Bonnie's body, revealing her bare legs, exposing her treasure to his hungry gaze. His hand traced the path from the back of her knee, up her hip, and finally rested just above her navel. He caressed her skin in long strokes. He moved his hand back and forth, but he didn't venture lower than her belly button.

"Maybe I'm tired of killing monsters, too. Maybe I'm tired of being judged by people. Maybe I'm not in a hurry to get back home…Maybe I'm tired of fighting how I feel," he said.

Before she could respond, Damon leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. Bonnie closed her eyes and stopped breathing for a moment. He then pressed his lips to each eyelid before moving on to her cheeks. He breathing became ragged, but she refused to allow herself to move.

For a moment, Bonnie considered that she was dreaming, but the discomfort caused by the bunched-up sheets and the chill still present in the room, had convinced her that her experience was real. Vividly real.

Damon stroked her cheek, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Can I?" he asked, without providing any additional information on what he was specifically requesting, but it didn't matter. Bonnie nodded her head, knowing that whatever he had in mind would probably be something she'd enjoy now and regret later.

Damon made quick work of removing her bra. He stared at her nakedness in what could only be described as wonder. A smile tugged at his lips; as if he'd just opened the exact gift he wanted for Christmas and was trying to decide what he wanted to play with first.

His eyes finally rested on her lips and Bonnie had barely registered the thought before he captured her mouth with his. He took his time, savoring each lip as if it were a rare delicacy just waiting to be consumed. To call the kiss passionate was an understatement. She felt as if her entire body caught fire the instant his mouth touched hers.

Damon deepened the kiss, pulling her flush against his body as he slipped his tongue between her lips and let it dance with hers. He threaded his fingers in her hair and kissed her harder, as he slid them both down so that he was almost on top of her.

"Bonnie, you deserve to feel as sexy as you are," Damon said, "Why don't you let me make you feel that way?"

She considered his words and wondered if he truly meant it, or if his desire to please her had more to do with fulfilling their mutual need for sexual release. While she didn't want to be a temporary placeholder for Elena, she also couldn't deny her intense attraction to him. She'd ignored it for years, pushing it aside along with other inappropriate feelings that plagued her soul. But it wasn't the time to second guess his words or actions. If giving her pleasure was what he wanted, she had no intention of stopping him – or herself.

Bonnie looked into Damon's eyes and saw the lustful determination she knew reflected in her own green orbs. Boldness took the place of indecision and she eagerly removed his boxer briefs, watching in awe as his hard cock sprung free of its restraint. Her mouth dropped open only to be captured again another eager kiss from her newly titled best friend.

Damon pulled them backward against the headboard as he cradled Bonnie in his arms. Desire didn't keep her there for long. She soon climbed onto his lap, straddling him and feeling his rigid length between her lower lips. Instinctively, she pressed herself against it and rolled her hips to savor every the delicious inch of the friction his impressive manhood provided. Damon groaned, letting out a shaky breath as he tried to restrain himself from sheathing himself inside her sex too soon.

Guilt would come later…after. In that moment, Bonnie wanted to earn every bit of guilt she knew she would feel the next day.

The heavy breathing between them both nearly drowned out the crackling of the fire. Damon placed his hands on Bonnie's waist, pulled her against his chest and pressed his cheek to hers.

"Can I kiss you again, Bon Bon?" Damon asked, already knowing her answer, but wanting to hear her give him permission to begin his slow seduction.

Bonnie nodded, her forehead soon resting against his. Her breathing picked up as his hands trailed over her skin. She shuddered as she bit back a groan; but her last shred of willpower began to fall away once his lips traced a hot path from the nape of her neck back up to her right ear.

"Tell me where," he said, the timbre of his voice sending vibrations down her spine and her nipples hardened at the sound. She heard his breath catch. He felt the erect buds brush against his bare flesh.

She wanted him. The intense sensation, both primal and emotional, overwhelmed her senses. She had to touch him. She had to taste him. She had to bury her face in his neck and breathe in his scent so she could feel his essence within her tiny lungs. The sound of his voice whispering in her ear drove her insane with want. The warmth of his lips sucking on the flesh just above her collarbone made her yearn to beg him to sink his teeth into her flesh and claim her: blood, body, mind and spirit.

"Tell me Bon, Bon," he whispered.

Bonnie ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer, earning an appreciative moan from the vampire she desperately needed to call her own; even if it only lasted for one night, this night. Yet she prayed that the eternity of the hour, their hour, would last as long as this never-ending date on the calendar.

"Everywhere," she moaned, closing her eyes and basking in the attention he afforded her.

Damon obliged Bonnie's request, placing a series of scorching kisses from her jawline to her collarbone. He worked his way down to the space between her breasts, and paused, looking deep into her eyes with a hint of mischief. He then drew one nipple into his mouth, flicking the tip with his tongue and generating a soft sigh from the young witch.

After several seconds, he pulled away and Bonnie felt keenly aware of his absence. Her eyes flew open to witness Damon removing the bed comforter and placing it on the floor next to the fireplace. He then walked back to the bed and reached her. She took his hand, standing slowly as she pressed her naked body against his. She could feel his erection poking at her stomach and the sensation made her weak in the knees.

Damon laid her bare body on the thick comforter in front of the fireplace blazing in his bedroom. His eyes took their time feasting on her flesh, knowing that soon, his mouth and his tongue would be doing the same. He grabbed his glass of bourbon from the mantle and lied down next to her.

"I knew that if I ever got the chance to make love to you, I'd take my time," he explained, "And since it seems we've seem to have all the time in the world, I intend to make the most of it."

Damon dipped a piece of ice into his glass, coating it with bourbon, and then circled the dripping cube around Bonnie's erect nipples. He hadn't compelled her to keep still, he couldn't – even without her witch powers, but she still fought the urge to move regardless; knowing the teasing he gave her would be worth it.

"So beautiful," he said, just before leaning down and licking the cold liquid from each breast.

Bonnie's back arched as he kissed his way down her chest to her navel. He dipped another ice cube into the bourbon and dripped it onto her stomach only to lick it off of her quivering flesh. She threaded her fingers through his hair as he ventured lower. He nibbled on her inner thigh until his mouth rested just above her treasure.

He parted her lower lips with one finger, circling her clit gently as writhed beneath his touch. He then used two fingers, sliding them up and down her labia and teasing her sensitive bud even more.

"Damon, Please," Bonnie begged.

Within seconds of receiving her instruction, Damon's tongue was on her, lapping hungrily at her folds and sucking her clit between his lips. She moaned with each stroke of his tongue and nibble of his teeth. She didn't want to orgasm that way. She wanted to feel his cock deep inside her when she came, but Damon continued his feast of her sex and she had no intention of stopping him. Each stroke took her higher and when he slid a finger inside to tease her G-Spot, she thought she would pass out from the sheer pleasure of it.

"Fuck, Damon!" she screamed, "I don't want to come like this. Don't make me come this way. Not yet."

Damon continued placing deep kisses on her already over-stimulated pussy. Each caress of his mouth brought her closer to the edge, but he refused to let her go over. He changed his pace to allow her to catch up with the sensations he gave her. After several minutes, he sat up - wiping her juices from his face but leaving behind a satisfied smile.

"Believe me, Bonnie: We both want you to come all over my cock," Damon told her.

Damon slowly pulled her up and turned her around, carefully sliding her into his lap and onto his rigid length. They faced the floor-length mirror and nervousness made Bonnie's muscles clench. She'd never watched herself have sex. She'd never had the desire to watch herself. She'd only made love with Jeremy and then, only in dim light or in the dark. She didn't consider self-voyeurism to be something that would turn her on because the mirror hides nothing, yet she watched in awe as her bronze body leaned against him, illuminated by the firelight.

The feeling of him sliding into her moist and eager folds was a shock to them both. They groaned in a harmony of gratification. Bonnie cried out in both ecstasy and a slight bit of pain. She'd never felt so full. She'd never realized how incredible the sensation would be; how it would make every millimeter of her skin tingle.

"Damon, I…" she started to say, but as he filled her inch-by-inch with his heat, she lost her train of thought. Her eyes rolled back into her head at the sweet sensation of him penetrating her core and stoking her g-spot with expert precision.

He pulled her hair away from the side of her face, placing hot wet kisses from the base of her neck to her ear.

"Bonnie, I don't just want you to feel me inside you," he whispered, slowly pushing his cock in and out of her, "I want you to see how beautiful you are when you moan; how hot you are when you lose control, and how sexy you look when I make you come."

Damon's words nearly sent her over the peak, but she resisted. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his hard dick stroking her quivering walls, his left hand caressing her erect nipples, his lips kissing her neck, and his right fingers working a magic all their own on her already swollen clit.

"Open your eyes, Beautiful Bonnie," he cajoled.

Bonnie opened her eyes. She watched herself riding him, his arms wrapped around her, holding her in place. She watched his cock slide in and out of her, the sight only heightening all the sensations he was giving her.

She turned her head, reaching up to grab his neck and pull him into a kiss, which he happily returned. Their moans and pants filled the air as sweat rolled off of them in the golden light filling the room.

Bonnie watched how she moved in unison with Damon. She studied each kiss and caress in the mirror, enjoying the show more than she ever expected. She watched the tension of pleasure in Damon's face as he thrust deeper and deeper inside of her. She saw his stomach and thigh muscles clench with each stroke and marveled at his skill.

With her release threatening to overtake her soon, she looked back into Damon's eyes, hoping he was as close as she. That's when she noticed his eyes darken with hunger and his vampire veins surround his eyes. Her need as primal and basic as his, she made another request.

"Bite me, Damon, please," she pleaded, "Bite me when I come."

She felt his erection become impossibly hard at her direction. He stretched her inner walls, driving her even higher as her moans sounded throughout the house. This was desire. This was passion. This was something she didn't know she needed and would no longer deny to herself.

Her orgasm soon crashed hard into her, overtaking all of her senses and eliciting a groan from the vampire, whose body stiffened behind her as his release consumed him as well.

Damon sank his fangs into Bonnie's neck, and without warning, another orgasm hit her even harder than the first. She bucked and writhed against him, but he held her still as he pulled a small but euphoric amount of blood from her veins.

He pulled his mouth from her neck, noticing the small wounds he'd left there. He bit into his wrist and Bonnie drank from it, continuing to ride his still-hard cock until she found herself grinding out third orgasm as his warm blood ran down her throat.

Damon lifted her up, pulling them both into the bed. He covered them both with a sheet and continued to kiss her until exhaustion took over. He then pulled her to his chest and she found herself falling asleep in his arms.

 **Present Day**

Bonnie finished watching the memory play out before her, considering that this scene was what Damon was thinking about while trapped in his own mind. This was his safe place: wrapped around her naked form in his 1994 bed.

It's a secret they agreed to keep as soon as they returned to Mystic Falls. It's a secret she dared not share with anyone other than Damon.

A loud thud sounded behind her, followed by a gasp. The image of Bonnie and Damon faded in front of her and Bonnie turned around, dread filling her heart.

The mind can be a confusing place; filled with images that can't be verified. Bonnie had every reason to lie about what the intruder must have witnessed in Damon's head, but she didn't. She couldn't. Saving Damon meant more than holding onto a lie.

"Oh my God!" Caroline shrieked, "You, You …and Damon?"


End file.
